Containers holding liquids such as laundry detergents and fabric softeners as well as other fluids are economically manufactured in a continuous blow molding process wherein a parison comprising a hollow tube of molten polymer is extruded continuously from a flow head. The parison is acted on by a series of moving molds, each of which is formed of mold halves which sequentially engage a respective portion of the parison by closing about the parison from opposite sides. As the mold halves comprising a particular mold close about a parison portion, knives on the mold halves sever the parison portion from the continuously extruding parison. The mold then moves away from the parison to allow the next mold to engage its respective parison portion. After a parison portion is engaged by a mold and cut from the parison, air is injected into the parison portion forcing it to expand and assume the shape of the mold. The mold is then opened to release the newly molded container to a conveyor, which transports the container for further processing. The mold then travels back to the parison to mold the next container. A detailed description of a process and apparatus for producing the containers is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,349, hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Containers made according to the aforementioned process may have a dome or moil attached to what will become the neck of the container once the moil is removed. Removal of the moil is effected by cutting it off to expose the opening to the interior of the container, the opening being defined by the neck. Additional finishing steps, such as burnishing of the neck surface created by removal of the moil or reaming of the neck, may also be effected.
For containers holding liquids such as laundry detergents which must be repeatedly poured in measured amounts, it is advantageous to install in the neck of the container a plastic non-drip spout which permits controlled pouring and drains any liquid remaining on the spout after pouring back into the container. Such spouts are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,299, hereby incorporated by reference herein.
It is advantageous to attach the spout to the container neck using a hot-melt adhesive which provides a secure attachment and a fluid-tight seal between the spout and the neck. Attachment of the spout requires separate process steps and equipment, which enlarges the factory floor space required for producing a finished container. It would be advantageous to provide an apparatus and a method which can produce a container by performing the necessary neck trimming and finishing functions as well as attachment of the spout but which requires a minimum of floor space.